Article
Anthropology
Samantha L. Yaussy, Sharon N. DeWitte, Gail Hughes-Morey
Summary: This study uses skeletal data to examine differences in adult survivorship in London before and after industrialization and the second epidemiological transition. The results show a significant increase in adult survivorship during the industrial period. These findings support the use of skeletal demographic data to study the context of the second epidemiological transition in past populations.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
George R. Milner, Jesper L. Boldsen
Summary: Through the analysis of human skeletal and archaeobotanical remains from small-scale societies distributed across the North American midcontinent over several millennia, it has been found that agriculture, particularly the intensification of food production and distribution, has supported the global population growth since the Holocene. The transition to an agricultural-based life in the midcontinent, indicated by plant remains, led to changes in age-independent mortality as reflected in the juvenility index (JI). The JI increased as people adopted a more intensive form of food production featuring maize, but declined later as they reverted to a more diverse diet and the overall population size reduced. Similar patterns of JI fluctuations have been observed in other parts of the world during the emergence of agricultural systems.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Terry L. Jones, Al W. Schwitalla, Marin A. Pilloud, John R. Johnson, Richard R. Paine, Brian F. Codding
Summary: The study examines the catastrophic decline of Indigenous populations in the Americas following European contact, attributing the population collapse to newly introduced diseases and severe cultural disruption by the Spanish colonial system. The findings suggest a significant shift in mortality risk occurred only after sustained contact with European invaders, leading to a plague-like population structure among Native Americans.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shaohua Zhou, Changhua Bao, Benshu Fan, Hui Zhou, Qixuan Gao, Haoyuan Zhong, Tianyun Lin, Hang Liu, Pu Yu, Peizhe Tang, Sheng Meng, Wenhui Duan, Shuyun Zhou
Summary: Time-periodic light field has been used to manipulate quantum states in solid-state materials, cold atoms, and photonic systems. This is achieved through interaction with photon-dressed Floquet states in the strong-coupling limit, known as Floquet engineering. In this study, experimental evidence of momentum-resolved Floquet band engineering in a model semiconductor, black phosphorus, is reported using time and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements. Strong band renormalization and light-induced dynamical gap opening are observed near the band edges under near-resonance pumping, along with the emergence of Floquet sidebands. The band renormalization shows a selection rule favoring pump polarization along the armchair direction, indicating pseudospin selectivity for Floquet band engineering enforced by lattice symmetry. This work demonstrates pseudospin-selective Floquet band engineering in black phosphorus and provides important guiding principles for Floquet engineering of semiconductors.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Talia L. Spark, Rachel Sayko Adams, Claire A. Hoffmire, Jeri E. Forster, Lisa A. Brenner
Summary: Knowledge of deaths due to suicide, alcohol, or drug-related causes may be limited and underestimated due to inconsistent and restrictive case definitions. This study examined the impact of different case definitions on the counts and rates of deaths among Colorado veterans. The inclusion of multiple-cause-of-death (MCOD) codes significantly increased the number of deaths and age-adjusted mortality rates, especially for alcohol-related deaths.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Elizabeth M. McClure, Sarah Saleem, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Shiyam Sunder Tikmani, Sangappa M. Dhaded, Kay Hwang, Gowdar Guruprasad, Dhananjaya Shobha, B. Sarvamangala, S. Yogeshkumar, Manjunath S. Somannavar, Sana Roujani, Sayyeda Reza, Jamal Raza, Haleema Yasmin, Anna Aceituno, Lindsay Parlberg, Jean Kim, Carla M. Bann, Robert M. Silver, Robert L. Goldenberg
Summary: This study aims to assess the underlying and contributing causes of stillbirth in India and Pakistan. The findings indicate that fetal asphyxia is the major cause of stillbirth in South Asia, and several placental lesions, as well as maternal hypertension, are associated with fetal death.
LANCET GLOBAL HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
Kieran Baughan, Katharine L. Balolia, Marc F. Oxenham, Clare Mcfadden
Summary: Most modern mammalian populations exhibit higher mortality at both ends of the age-at-death distribution. Yet our hominin ancestors reportedly do not exhibit this same distribution. This study compares mortality distributions of extant nonhuman primates to fossil hominins and finds that the extinct hominin groups have similar mortality rates to the nonhuman primate groups.
JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Editorial Material
Medicine, General & Internal
Eugenia South, Atheendar Venkataramani, George Dalembert
Summary: As wealth plays a crucial role in determining health, health equity strategies should aim to narrow the racial wealth gap. Health systems can take actions to address this major social determinant of health.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Di Long, Johan P. Mackenbach, Silvia Klokgieters, Ramune Kalediene, Patrick Deboosere, Pekka Martikainen, Kristian Heggebo, Mall Leinsalu, Matthias Bopp, Henrik Bronnum-Hansen, Giuseppe Costa, Terje Eikemo, Wilma J. Nusselder
Summary: Studies have shown important changes in educational inequalities in mortality over time, but it is unknown whether a birth cohort perspective paints the same picture. This study compares changes in inequalities in mortality between a period and cohort perspective and explores mortality trends among low-educated and high-educated birth cohorts.
JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Emilia R. Franklin, Piers D. Mitchell, John Robb
Summary: This study examines the paleoepidemiology of Black Death mass graves in Hereford, England, through osteological analysis. It reveals that young adults were disproportionately affected by the plague, and that linear enamel hypoplasia may be more closely associated with vulnerability to the disease.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Craig J. McClain, Vatsalya Vatsalya, Mack C. Mitchell
Summary: Keratin-18 is a promising biomarker for predicting severity and treatment response of AH, playing a significant role in diagnosis and prognosis of liver diseases.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Naiqi Zhang, Jan Sundquist, Kristina Sundquist, Zhi-Gang Zhang, Jianguang Ji
Summary: This study suggests that the use of aspirin and SSRIs, either as monotherapy or combined, is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. The combined use of aspirin and SSRIs shows a stronger chemopreventive effect compared to monotherapy, calling for further research to confirm mechanisms and clinical recommendations. The inverse associations of CRC with aspirin and SSRIs exhibit a dose-dependent pattern.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Sylwia Lukasik, Jakub Bijak, Marta Krenz-Niedbala, Vitaly Sinika
Summary: This study explores a range of Bayesian methods for estimating age at death for Scythian nomadic warriors. Results reveal slight differences in longevity between different social strata and chronological periods, with high estimation errors. The high probability of death in young adulthood, possibly due to the Scythian lifestyle, is a robust finding.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Suzanne O. Bell, Georges Guiella, Meagan E. Byrne, Fiacre Bazie, Yentema Onadja, Haley L. Thomas, Caroline Moreau
Summary: The study aimed to estimate induced abortion incidence and safety in Burkina Faso, finding that the majority of abortions were unsafe, especially among older women, less educated women, and those living in rural areas.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xavier Didelot, Charles Morris Evans
Summary: The burial rates of males and females in early modern central London were compared to investigate a possible bias towards male mortality in plague years. The study found a higher burial rate for males in each plague year, partly due to a higher population of males in central London. Additionally, the migration of women of childbearing age out of the city during the plague years contributed to the enhanced difference in adult male and female burials. Husbands were also more likely to be buried than their wives. However, this bias was less apparent in some plague years and in non-plague years, there were more burials of boys than girls.
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte, Gail Hughes-Morey, Jelena Bekvalac, Jordan Karsten
ANNALS OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Anthropology
Samantha L. Yaussy, Sharon N. DeWitte
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Anthropology
R. C. Redfern, S. N. DeWitte, J. Beaumont, A. R. Millard, C. Hamlin
ANNALS OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte, Samantha L. Yaussy
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Anthropology
Brittany S. Walter, Sharon N. DeWitte, Tosha Dupras, Julia Beaumont
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte, Mary Lewis
Summary: Bioarcheological evidence suggests that male stature increased while female stature decreased after the Black Death (1348-1350 CE). Changes in women's stature may be linked to earlier menarche and improved health conditions for adolescent females post-epidemic.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Tracy K. Betsinger, Sharon N. DeWitte
Summary: Urbanization is a key settlement shift in human history that has been studied for decades in bioarchaeology. By comparing urban and rural sites, studying variation within and between urban sites, and investigating changes over time within urban sites, researchers can gain insight into the complex effects of urbanization on human biology, demography, and behavior.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Emily J. Brennan, Sharon N. DeWitte
Summary: This study comparatively assesses the sexual stature difference in medieval London and finds a higher degree of difference in the post-Black Death period. The improvement in living conditions after the Black Death may have contributed to this increase in sexual stature difference.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Cecil M. Lewis Jr, Mercy Y. Akinyi, Sharon N. DeWitte, Anne C. Stone
Summary: By studying the genomes of ancient pathogens and microbiomes, this perspective explores the patterns of infectious diseases throughout the Holocene and investigates how the transition to and intensification of farming have influenced pathogens and their distributions. The findings from ancient DNA research, combined with archaeological and historical data, provide valuable insights into pathogen evolution and offer a contextual understanding of health in the past. These findings are relevant for contemporary challenges, such as the emergence of novel pathogens.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gwen Robbins Schug, Jane E. Buikstra, Sharon N. DeWitte, Brenda J. Baker, Elizabeth Berger, Michele R. Buzon, Anna M. Davies-Barrett, Lynne Goldstein, Anne L. Grauer, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Sian E. Halcrow, Kelly J. Knudson, Clark Spencer Larsen, Debra L. Martin, Kenneth C. Nystrom, Megan A. Perry, Charlotte A. Roberts, Ana Luisa Santos, Christopher M. Stojanowski, Jorge A. Suby, Daniel H. Temple, Tiffiny A. Tung, Melandri Vlok, Tatyana Watson-Glen, Sonia R. Zakrzewski
Summary: Climate change poses an undeniable threat to human health, particularly for societies already grappling with social inequality, political and economic uncertainty, and concurrent environmental challenges. Archaeological evidence from past climates and environments sheds light on the potential challenges humans may face and the long-term consequences of short-term adaptive strategies. Variations in human epidemiological patterns during rapid climate change (RCC) events and other periods of environmental change demonstrate that communities responded differently depending on historical, sociocultural, and biological factors. Factors such as social inequality and uneven resource distribution in complex societies can influence the likelihood of major sociopolitical disruptions or collapse. This survey of human-environment relations in the Holocene highlights the importance of flexibility, variation, and Indigenous knowledge in mitigating the impact of rapid and extreme environmental changes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Samantha L. Yaussy, Sharon N. DeWitte, Gail Hughes-Morey
Summary: This study uses skeletal data to examine differences in adult survivorship in London before and after industrialization and the second epidemiological transition. The results show a significant increase in adult survivorship during the industrial period. These findings support the use of skeletal demographic data to study the context of the second epidemiological transition in past populations.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Jane E. Buikstra, Sharon N. DeWitte, Sabrina C. Agarwal, Brenda J. Baker, Eric J. Bartelink, Elizabeth Berger, Kelly E. Blevins, Katelyn Bolhofner, Alexis T. Boutin, Megan B. Brickley, Michele R. Buzon, Carlina de la Cova, Lynne Goldstein, Rebecca Gowland, Anne L. Grauer, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Sian E. Halcrow, Sarah A. Hall, Simon Hillson, Ann M. Kakaliouras, Haagen D. Klaus, Kelly J. Knudson, Christopher J. Knusel, Clark Spencer Larsen, Debra L. Martin, George R. Milner, Mario Novak, Kenneth C. Nystrom, Sofia Pacheco-Fores, Tracy L. Prowse, Gwen Robbins Schug, Charlotte A. Roberts, Jessica E. Rothwell, Ana Luisa Santos, Christopher Stojanowski, Anne C. Stone, Kyra E. Stull, Daniel H. Temple, Christina M. Torres, J. Marla Toyne, Tiffiny A. Tung, Jaime Ullinger, Karin Wiltschke-Schrotta, Sonia R. Zakrzewski
Summary: This article presents outcomes from a workshop that aimed to explore reasons for the poor performance of research proposals by bioarchaeologists in recent funding competitions and provide advice for increasing success. The workshop discussed best practices for research design and training, as well as promising research trajectories related to contemporary topics of importance in bioarchaeology.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Anthropology
Brittany S. Walter, Sharon N. DeWitte
ANNALS OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2017)